Landmark Theatre moving into former ArcLight space at The Glen
The Village of Glenview board officially dissolved The Glen tax increment financing district on Tuesday.
Some of the money from The Glen TIF fund will check off one of the boxes of the recent Glenview Connect development project.
Landmark Theatre will move into the former site of ArcLight Cinema, 1850 Tower Drive, in The Glen Town Center, Glenview director of Community Development Jeff Brady explained Tuesday.
The 45,000 square-foot ArcLight space, which went vacant in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, closed permanently in April of this year. ArcLight's California-based parent company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy this summer, according to Bloomberg News. It's one of the "spark sites" identified in the Glenview Connect's Economic Development Strategic Plan.
Brady said on Monday Landmark signed a 20-year guaranteed lease obligation with theater owner OliverMcMillan to own and operate a multiple-screen movie theater at that space. Landmark also will contribute $750,000 to repopulate the space.
Landmark has been interested in entering the Glenview market, and OliverMcMillan had discussed prospects with other companies, Brady said, but none was willing to share in necessary improvement costs or commit to a long-term lease until Landmark came along.
Glenview trustee Tim Doron later called it "a coup" to get Landmark into the vacant theater.
It will come at a cost, out of The Glen TIF fund, but Glenview could reap benefits beyond an expected $3.1 million to $4.2 million in tax revenue over the 20-year term. Since the TIF began in 1998, OliverMcMillan paid about $3.2 million in property taxes to it, Brady said.
The development agreement will see the village provide $3.5 million of TIF-eligible expenses to handle costs of building and interior remodeling. The deal sends $3.25 million to the owner to reimburse Landmark for new projection and sound systems in the 10 movie auditoriums, buy new seating and update the lobby, concessions and other amenities. OliverMcMillan will receive $250,000 for repairs to the roof and mechanical systems.
Additionally, the village will provide OliverMcMillan a $300,000 loan out of its Fiscal Year 2020 budget to cover costs of the tenant space lease. The loan is forgivable at 10% annually over the first 10 years of the theater's operation.
In what Brady termed a "windfall clause," if during each of its first 10 years of operation Landmark reaps more than $6.5 million in annual sales, the owner will pay the village 50% of all percentage rent over $6.5 million, up to a maximum of $2 million total over those 10 years.
And, if OliverMcMillan were to sell the property, it assumes the unforgiven portion of the loan. If it sells it for more than $6 million, from the excess proceeds the owner would pay the village up to $380,000 in the first five years of the agreement and a maximum of $190,000 if the sale closes in years 6-10.
Like Doron, trustee Mary Cooper was excited about Landmark coming in. Both she and trustee Adam Sidoti believed it could benefit nearby restaurants.
"I think this is an exciting opportunity to utilize TIF funds as they need to be," Village President Mike Jenny said, "in response to resident feedback to generate or to create a change."